Future Marlins top prospect Andrew Salas begins professional career in Venezuela

[Ely Sussman]

The 16-year-old Salas started at shortstop on Wednesday for LMBP's Marineros de Carabobo. He's expected to officially sign with the Marlins in January.

The Marlins have a multi-million dollar deal in place with infielder Andrew Salas to headline their 2025 international free agent class, but his professional career is already underway. Salas is spending his age-16 season with Marineros de Carabobo in Liga Mayor de Béisbol Profesional (LMBP), a Venezuelan league unaffiliated with Major League Baseball.

Per Cardenas Sports Media, the talented switch-hitter went 8-for-16 in preseason games while playing shortstop and center field. He appeared in the Marineros' regular season opener on Saturday as a pinch-runner. Then on Wednesday, Salas cracked the starting lineup for the first time. Batting ninth and manning shortstop, he went 1-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base in a 19-10 win. Here's his RBI double:

This is not a developmental league, to be clear. The average age of the Carabobo roster is 27.7 years old. Most of Salas' teammates and opponents are more than a decade older than him! The only other teenager in his clubhouse is catcher David Chirinos, who's the son of the team's manager, Robinson Chirinos.

LMBP consists of eight teams. The league's regular season runs through July 7.

Complete livestreams of all Marineros de Carabobo games are available on the LMBP TV YouTube channel.

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[THOMAS JOSEPH]

Thanks for the information and for providing the LMBP link. It's a dual opportunity to watch baseball on demand and work on my rusty Spanish. I watched the Dominican Series and really enjoyed it, especially Brujan's performance there, which led me to believe a rebound year was possible due to the change of venue and a reality kick in the pants. 

[Ely Sussman]

2 hours ago, THOMAS JOSEPH said:

Thanks for the information and for providing the LMBP link. It's a dual opportunity to watch baseball on demand and work on my rusty Spanish. I watched the Dominican Series and really enjoyed it, especially Brujan's performance there, which led me to believe a rebound year was possible due to the change of venue and a reality kick in the pants. 

I'm very grateful for it. This is the equivalent of having complete footage from the senior season of an early first-round draft pick that the team has already agreed to select. International signings are generally difficult to assess until they come stateside, but this case is an exception. I'm already learning so much about Salas.